sided pace mat tutorial yesterday and here I am hosting a second stop
with a tutorial on how to make these
easy-peasy organizer baskets!

Not ready to think about Christmas yet?

Me neither, but we know it will come before we know it!

Jennifer picked this perfect timing to get this rolling

so that we have plenty of time to whip up gifts!

It's been over a year since I last posted a tutorial,

so I was a bit nervous writing this up, although it is

probably the easiest project among all sewing tutes

I have ever written, hehe. Hopefully I took enough pictures

so that the visual will help you through! If you have any
questions about this tute, you know you can contact me anytime!

Ok, here you go!

To make one basket, you'll need two 13" x 7" cotton rectangles
(one for exterior, one for interior) and one piece of
cotton batting that is just a little larger than 13" x 7".

Spray the wrong side of the interior piece and add the batting.

Quilt as desired. I like mine diagonal cross hatch quilted.
I marked a line from one corner to the point where it's 6" from the other corner.

Quilt along the line. (My stitch length was set at 3.0)

This quilter accessory is such a big help!
I sew while guiding the quilter over the previous row of stitching.
(My quilting lines are approximately 3/4" apart from each other.)

Like that. If your sewing machine didn't come with
this accessory, you can mark parallel lines throughout the interior piece.

Here is how this looks after diagonal quilting is done.

Now mark a line perpendicular to the stitching and quilt in the same manner.

Yay quilting is done!

Chop off the excess.

Now fold in half the piece with right sides together lengthwise
and sew both short edges. (1/4" seam allowance)

Time to box corners!

Mark where the seam line is at 1 1/4" from both sides.
(2.5" long from one edge to the other.) Sew along the marked line.

Cut off the corner. Leave a small seam allowance.

Repeat the same process for the other short edge so that
your quilted interior looks like this.

Do the same with the exterior piece.

With right sides together, place the exterior inside the
interior. Match seams and pin in place.

I like to start sewing just about 3" away from the seam.

Leave about 1 1/2" wide opening. Turn the right side out from the opening.

Press the opening.

Top-stitching!

Now you've finished making this organizer basket!
(Finished size: 2"H x 9 1/2"W x 2 1/2"D)
These nicely soft baskets serve well as drawer organizers/utensil trays,
but if you want to stabilize the baskets a little,
you can alternate the pattern by using interfacing on
the back of the exterior and/or using stiffer batting and/or...

Top-stitching four corners.

Your basket will be more squarish like this.
(these were made in the same way except for top-
stitched corners.)

This basket is a perfect size to put together 16 spools of Gutermann 250m
threads for a gift. (Oh I just had a vision of this basket filled with spools
and one big handle in the middle! That would make a cute gift, wouldn't it?)

Or maybe pen holders? Whatever you or the recipients
of your baskets can think of :) Lots of possibilities!

I would love to see your baskets in this flickr pool andhere for anything you made using tutorials in this blog hop!

Fabric used: Sew Cherry and Kei

I hope you'll find some great inspiration for Christmas

gift makings by hopping over these amazing blogs.

I am so looking forward to seeing what they'll come up with
because I haven't decided what I will be making for Christmas yet!

That is so nice! I have made so many bags that this tutorial has no surprises sewing wise, but it's not anything I've ever done before and I LOVE it! Especially the last step on the corners. Thank you.

Thanks for the lovely tutorial...this project is going to be added to the list of projects being made tomorrow (and all of them based on your tutorials). Can't wait to try it out!Thanks as well for the giveaway!

Thanks for this great tutorial! I am now following you, and I'm also keeping this tutorial in mind because that could definitely be something I could put my spools of thread in since I do not have anything to put them in and scraps of fabric to use! Thanks so much for sharing this tutorial. :)

Well I am loving this 12 days of Christmas, already! Thanks to Jennifer I found your blog and have become a follower through Google Reader. I love fabric boxes and can think of all kinds of things that need to be organized. Great ideas for Christmas gifts too! Thank you.

Ayumi, your tutorial is the best. Great how detailed you show us how to quilt with exact lines and all those pictures make the tutorial so easy to follow! I want to make some for my threads. Love it!!I am so happy I found you a while back. I think it was through Lisa at A spoonful of sugar. Happy weekend!

Oh Ayumi, you always share such FANTASTIC tutorials! I was trying to click on this tute button last night and it wouldn't work...now i know why! I had to be patient until today! And it was worth it. Thanks so much for sharing...again! Sam from Australia.

What a great idea and a great tutorial! I'm a visual learner and you did a super good job. These are perfect as they are way cute, don't take alot of fabric and won't(shouldn't) take weeks to make. I'm a new follower and found you thru Jennifer and this hop.

Thank you and Fat Quarter Shop for a great giveaway and a chance to win.

Thanks, Ayumi, for sharing another great tutorial with us readers. I know I'll be doing this one too. I've made several of your small baskets after having your tutorial and when I was making them at a retreat once the others there were making copies, and pretty soon there were many of them at that retreat. You are generous to share your ideas with us! Thanks again.

What a great tutorial! I can see all kinds of uses...one wide enough for a row of tea bags, perhaps...definitely a more stylish way to organize thread than the plastic tub I have all mine thrown in, and a great use for larger scraps!

Thank you so much for this excellent tutorial Ayumi - I will definitely have a go at making one myself. I love these beautiful and useful fabric trays. ;) I enjoy using them so much.I haven't done any quilting before. The spray looks interesting, any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! My name is Ayumi. I love sharing my crafty journal and other little anecdotes in my life here. I am a mother to a baby girl and a wife to my husband from Seattle. We live in a small apartment in Tokyo. I hope you enjoy being here :) Welcome♪